verse214

I can definitely see how moving your head would cause a reverse pivot; that said - i don't move my head - I move my eyes. I tried looking right at the ball for the entire back swing at the range recently but it threw me off and didn't let me complete my back swing as properly as I wanted to and it didn't let me go after the ball. I noticed that my eyes do move back to the ball right before impact. I have to play a round this weekend so i don't want to mess around with my swing too much- I used to look directly at the ball and would like to get back to that so it will be something that I will be working on through the winter after it gets way too cold to play. All the responses have been interesting - keep them coming.

what do you mean by patented the "fitting system"? - do you have the patent number? I'm just curious and would like to use it for more research.

Hey Erik - so I take it you're working with an S&T; teacher now based on what you wrote above? How long have you been at it and do you recommend it to others?

85-90 is actually right around average - unless you take into consideration everyone in the other "6-iron swing speed" thread with SS's of well over 100. 85-90 is healthy

Another thing that you should keep in mind is how much you plan on going to play rounds at the course versus how much time you plan on spending at the range to practice your ballstriking. I have a high handicap as well, however I just switched to a blended set w/ blades (musclebacks) that you can see below in my sig. Reason being, I'm from NY and the golf season is winding down. Last winter I just went to the range every other day to practice my ballstriking- my first set of irons were actually MP-52's. I barely went to the course when I started last year but the 52's definitely accelerated the progression of my ball striking. I figure blades on a range won't do any harm to your sanity since you'll be able to just pull another ball outta the basket and work on that swing, but I can definitely see why some people are so adamant about not using blades on the course - they can drive you crazy if you're having an off day. Regardless, do what you think it right - you can always switch back if you're wrong. When I started playing last year I didn't think blades even looked that good - but after seeing them in person and lining up to the ball I haven't been able to resist. They're just so damn sexy!

You're definitely right about rising naturally - what thinking "low and slow" does for me is keep my arms extended and the club "on path" for the first second of the backswing - ultimately it's impossible to really keep the clubhead low the entire time but it helps me alot with starting out the clubhead in the right place so that it doesn't end up behind my hands i guess..

I struggle with the same problem and when my clubhead gets inside my hands I push the ball alot or I'll start using my hands too much to recover from the pushing. The biggest problem I notice when I don't keep the clubhead outside my hands is a significant loss of power - I think it throws my whole backswing off and doesn't allow me to really get the club in the slot on the downswing. Just my own experiences with the same problem... One thing I've been doing to resolve this is setting up to the ball and taking a partial backswing, making sure to take the club low and slow away from the ball and then checking that the clubhead is outside my hands when it's almost parallel or at parallel. Then i'll finish turning my shoulders which makes me finish my backswing naturally and I'll bring the club back down to the ball and then swing away ASAP to keep the feeling of that path intact during the actualy swing. i believe Eric also suggested using the tripod drill --

I noticed a few weeks ago the I don't even look at the ball during my backswing; i generally will look at the ball at address and my eyes move back along the target line as I make the backswing and during the downswing I don't see it because it will be gone. Does anyone else do this? Or does everyone more or less keep their eye on the ball? I started doing this because I created a habit of checking my position in the backswing by looking back. Since i've done that so much in the past, I've gotten so used to it. Now if I force myself to keep looking at the ball, my weight will sometimes get stuck and I will forget to weight shift back (or my weight stays at the ball, where my eyes are being forced to look). It's not a big deal but I wanted to get a general consensus on what everyone does. Thanks!

you always hear about people struggling with either their driver or their irons because the ball is hit on different parts of the swing for each.- you're hitting your driver on the upswing whereas you hit irons on the downswing. Don't worry - usually i suck at both =P

Last year there was a day at the range where I strained my left shoulder - right underneath my left shoulder blade. It was because I was swinging too hard and I was just a horrible player last year when I started. Essentially it didn't go away until I rested it for 3 weeks. I was pretty nutso about going to the range 3-5 times a week when I first started and it definitely did not help. Generally the only way to heal a muscle strain is stretching and lots of rest.

There was a pretty good article this past month in one of the golf magazines with a chart - forget which mag it was. Essentially if you're such a high handicap - I would just use one type of swing for your chip. Be sure to keep your left arm straight and lead with your left shoulder. Use your shoulders as the primary driver and keep your pits closed. Hands should naturally hinge and release. Once you get a single type of chip down tight you can use the below chart and essentially hit what i'd say is 80% of all needed chips pretty solidly: Ratios are all Distance in the air : Distance roll out on green 60* - 2:1 Wedges between 50* and high 50's* (I forget) - 1:1 9-iron- 1:2 8-iron- 1:3 7-iron- 1:4 6-iron: 1:5 pretty good chart to remember and definitely helpful.

HAHA - I wouldn't put it past him...

Under $30 (which would include the price of the grip) at a big box retailer - you can probably get it spined as well at a club maker for that price 50 bucks would cover SST puriing w/ the shaft being pulled and reinstalled. I've heard cheaper for the SST Puring but I called an extremely well known maker out here in LI and that is their price.

If anything, the sole is much smaller from when I compared the 58's to my 52's. I ended up grabbing a set of 58/68's

good for you - do you want a cookie?

Simplest answer I know and what it probably is: You're casting the club at impact

Actually, the Mizuno system does check swing timing parameters as well including the load pattern and release timing as i described in my previous post. If I were in Kansas, I probably would stop by your place and take a look Also, if you're checking it for every club in a player's bag - does that mean that my 5 iron will have project x's and my 8 iron will have dynamic golds? i don't see what use there is in checking it for every iron.

This is inaccurate - You will be able to order the Nike limited release putter yourself online at www.nikestore.com starting November 2nd. You will then be able to tell them the specs and they will customize it by stamping your initials if desired on the putter. The putter will come with a signed certificate with the name of the person at The Oven who made the putter for you. The limited release putters will go for $499.

Just to add to my above post as I was in a hurry writing that: The shaft optimizer is definitely really cool - regardless of whether it's just a bs selling tool or if it really works. There was someone else there who had similar SS #'s to me but the system suggested a different 3 shafts than mine. I didn't hear his other numbers but they were obviously different from what i churned out. As soon as I hit the KB tour X-flex, I was in love. It's a little off topic but it played like the "flex" of my PX 5.5's except sturdier (or boardier). I hit both the 58's and the 68's in the kb x flex and the trajectory for the 6 iron for the 68's were perfect - nice and low. Trajectory was a little higher on the mp-58. The 68's are not difficult to hit. I am still getting a 4 and 5 iron in 58's though.

So I just got back from the demo day out in Flanders, NJ. I drove about an hour from NYC to get there but it was definitely worth it. I currently play MP 52's in Project X 5.5 and I have a draw swing that sometimes will hook further left than I like. I've been playing for a year and this has been my first set of irons. As my swing progressed, I always thought that the ball going left was because of the lie of the clubs as I had them bent 1* upright a month after I started playing golf. So I get to the demo day and warm up and ask the guy to use the "shaft optimizer". It's a "computer"-like thing on a graphite shaft and what looked to be an mp head (didn't look closely enough to see which mp model). Real light club. I hit three balls and the guy writes a bunch of numbers. I forget the order of what is what except for the swing speed (which is the largest number). Other stats included were "toe up", "toe down", "load point", and "release point". My numbers are below: 92, 3, 5,5,7 90,4,5,6,8 93,4,5,5,7 Then he handed these numbers off to his assistant who runs off and throws them in a machine and comes back with suggestions. I got 3 steel shaft suggestions and 1 graphite: Dynalite Gold XP S-300 Project X 6.0 KBS X Flex IS2 Tour Spec Stiff (Graphite) I ended up picking the KBS X Flex and I ordered a blended set of 68's and 58's. While I was hitting with the x-flex, I did not hook the ball at all, whatsoever. It eliminated the left side for me which I had always attributed to lie. Everyone should go try this...

Do you have a relatively flat swing? Happens to me sometimes when I hit my shorter clubs and my swing is not upright enough.

Thanks for the response - Did you end up getting a set??

I definitely will -- I'm looking to replace my 52's (albeit slowly and steadily) and I would like to get a blended set of 58's and 68's. We'll see how the demo goes first. There's a chance I might just get a full set of 58's if I don't like the blades (or if the blades don't like me )

Hey - just from what i've heard: If you can't "feel" the club you actually need a lighter shaft, not a heavier one. The lighter the shaft, the heavier the club head feels and the more you should be able to feel the club head throughout your swing. The heavier the shaft, the lighter your club head is going to feel: this makes it easier to work the ball since you can alter the swing path more easily - this is why they generally say the more skilled you are, the heavier the shaft. Correct me if i'm wrong.

I'm using one tomorrow at the Mizuno demo day in NJ! Totally friggin psyched